1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-capturing apparatus, particularly to an image-capturing apparatus such as a digital camera in which an image is recorded, as image data, on a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an image-capturing apparatus (for example, a digital camera) reads an image formed by a plurality of lenses, by means of an image reading device such as a CCD, and records the image, as image data, on a recording medium such as smart media or floppy disk. Further, a digital camera is provided with a lid so as to prevent intrusion of dust into a slot in which the recording medium is stored.
In such digital cameras, if the recording medium is removed from the main body of camera during recording or reading of image data, there is a risk that image data may be lost or that the recording medium may be damaged. Accordingly, the digital camera has conventionally been provided such that a power source is automatically shut off on opening of the lid, thereby preventing removal of the recording medium while data access to the recording medium is enabled. Further, the digital camera is adapted to give a warning when an operation of removing the recording medium is detected while data access to the recording medium is enabled, or to inhibit removal of the recording medium by mechanically locking the lid to the slot when data access to the recording medium is enabled.
In recent years, various corrections or image editing for image data recorded on a recording medium by a digital camera and fetched into a personal computer has commonly been carried out. In general, in order to fetch image data from the recording medium on which the image data is recorded by the digital camera, into the personal computer, the recording medium is mounted on a PC reading card, the PC card is inserted into the personal computer, and the image data is fetched into the personal computer via the PC reading card.
It has recently been considered that when the image data is fetched from the digital camera into the personal computer, the digital camera is equipped with a card type communication medium to which a portable personal telephone (or PHS (personal handyphone system), hereinafter referred to as a personal telephone) is connected by a cable, a personal telephone in which a portion of a main body of the telephone serves as a card type communication medium, or a card type communication medium such as a PC card of the Bluetooth Standard or a modem card, and the image data is fetched into the personal computer by offline processing.
However, when the image data is fetched into the personal computer by offline processing, if the personal telephone in which a portion of the main body serves as the card type communication medium is mounted at the digital camera, the main body of the telephone protrudes from the main body of the digital camera. Further, when the card type communication medium connected to the personal telephone is mounted on the digital camera, the cable connected to the card type communication medium extends from the main body of the digital camera. Moreover, when the card type communication medium utilizing radio transmission such as a PC card of the Bluetooth Standard or a modem card, is mounted on the digital camera, an antenna provided in the card type communication medium protrudes from the main body of the digital camera.
As described above, in the digital camera, in order to prevent removal of the recording medium during reading, when opening of the lid of the slot is detected, a power source is automatically shut off. Alternatively, removal of the recording medium is inhibited by mechanically locking the lid of the slot when communication access to the recording medium is enabled. Therefore, if the lid is opened and the personal telephone or the card type communication medium is inserted in the slot, the lid provided in the slot cannot be closed by the above-described cable or the like. For this reason, the digital camera may stop driving or the recording medium may remain in an access inhibit state. As a result, the personal telephone or the card type communication medium cannot substantially be mounted on the digital camera.
Accordingly, it may be considered that restrictions based on an open/close state of the lid of the slot as described above may be removed or a structure having no lid for the slot may be provided. However, in this case as well, it is not possible to solve primary problems in that when the recording medium is inserted in the slot, image data may be lost or the recording medium may be damaged due to removal of the recording medium when communication access thereto is enabled, and when nothing is inserted in the slot, dust or waste matter may collect in the slot.